Nike Women's Marathon; Joan Benoit-Samuelson; when the morning comes... A walk with Mom; Final thoughts

Friday, October 19, 2007

This afternoon, after spending most of the day learning about new Nike running footwear, apparel and accessories at a Nike running summit, about ten writers and publishers headed over to the Nike Women's Marathon expo. The expo is located near Union Square, and its size does not give any indication to the magic that this event evokes for women runners.

The women who will run, walk and jog the Nike plus half marathon and the Nike Women's 26.2 Marathon are able to pick up their numbers, their goodies bags, test the Nike plus (a training and motivation system based on Nike and Apple I-pod technology), learn about Nike shoes, receive a pedicure, and sample chocolate, fitness bars and even take a Yoga warm up class! This expo, by most standards, is a small, focused affair, but with big numbers. The 23,000 runners here (including 3,500 who paid $45 to get a t-shirt and Tiffany key ring for logging the 13.1 miles anywhere in the country using the Nike iPod to keep track of their miles on Sunday, October 21) have raised over $18 million dollars for cancer research.

It was only 23 years ago, in Los Angeles, that the women's marathon became part of the Olympics. Joan Benoit-Samuelson won that premier event. As she took the lead for good, before four miles, Joan opened the sport of marathoning to American woman. Benoit-Samuelson has never looked back. Now, having qualified for her sixth Olympic Trials (she has run four of them), Joan is the ambassador of this event.

In a short interview on Friday, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, 1984 Olympic gold medalist, had this to say about the marathon and her sport: "Since 2003, the running crowd here is much more savvy these days. The energy is far greater than in year one . . . this event is about runners helping runners . . . I think that running is an accessible sport, especially for women. I refer to my career as before children and after diapers--women do too much, and running allows you to air it out."

Women runners are the story of the past decade in the sport. In the mid 90s, 'The Cause' running phenomenon happened and many women runners were drawn into the sport. The number of runners and walkers grew at crazy amounts. Now, over half of the new runners are women and races such as the Nike Women's Marathon give them a chance to meet new people and feel, as one female writer put it so eloquently, "Run with my own tribe."

This event has changed how many women view the Nike brand. Nike has always celebrated the athlete, male and female, but was heralded for the likes of John McEnroe and many in your face slogans and catch phrases. Nike was in your face. In 1996, there was the slogan, "You do not win silver or bronze, you lose gold."

That did not fare well with women athletes. There were also issues on how Nike running footwear fit women runners. Alas, the $19 billion company that is Nike changed. Perhaps the better term is mutated, evolved, maybe even kicked itself. This very volatile culture, created by Phil Knight and his mentor/partner, Bill Bowerman, celebrates and battles change each and every day. It is this dichotomy that gives Nike much of its current success and challenges.

In the end, and over the past three to five years, Nike has developed shoes that answered the needs of the female consumer. The events such as Nike Women's Marathon, the product lines such as Nike plus, all reach out and touch the women consumer.

Phil Knight once said, "Always listen to the athlete." Well, the athlete has changed. Take the case of Kara Goucher, a young distance runner who took the bronze medal in Osaka, Japan this past August in the 10,000 meters. When asked gushingly by the media if the bronze medal was the greatest thing to happen in her life, Kara responded, "Well, in the athletics part of my life." How refreshing. How honest. Goucher earned that bronze medal with 22 laps of gut-wrenchingly honest running and two laps of making her fondest dreams a reality. Women runners identify with Goucher like they identify with Benoit-Samuelson.

This is not hero worship, for women are too smart for that. Goucher and Benoit-Samuelson give Nike street credibility with women. Both women juggle real life issues in a real life world. And they have this running part of their lives.

This weekend, Joan Benoit-Samuelson will run with 23,000 of her closest friends--her tribe. San Francisco, or 'The City' to its inhabitants, will welcome them with open arms. This is a city that celebrates diversity, eccentricity and has been the home to this race for four years.

There is talk of putting on this kind of race in other cities. That could happen and perhaps it should happen. But Joan Benoit-Samuelson, that quietly confident goddess of the sport of running, knows her tribe. Joan suggests that the City by the Bay open the race, the entire city to as many women who wanted to run the hallowed streets and hills of San Francisco! That would be 23,000 to what, 50,000? That could be a story, as 23,000 women runners is a celebration, and 50,000 would be, what, a city?

On Sunday, I will be walking the course, asking runners and walkers about their dreams, their goals, their reasons for running and walking. And, like the many who line the course, I will be cheering 23,000 runners and walkers as they celebrate their tribe and their lives.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Joan Benoit-Samuelson with Her Tribe

The enthusiasm this weekend around San Francisco is infectious. Everywhere I went, from walking around Union Square, to walking over to the Piers, there were women runner's everywhere.

Saturday started out with Breakfast at Tiffany's, where the VP of Sales of Tiffany's welcomed the press, sponsors, runners and volunteers to the Nike Women's 26.2 and the Nike plus Half marathon. John Walter, the COO of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society spoke for a few minutes, thanking all for being in San Francisco, and for raising over $18 million for Leukemia Research. The stories from the top three fundraisers showed why the cause running clubs allow runners to focus on something larger than themselves. In many cases, it is this cause that gets many of these first time runners to lace up their running shoes!

I spent much of the day observing women runners of all ages and abilities getting their race packets, lining up for pedicures, manicures and massages. By 3 p.m. there was a 30-minute wait for massages!

While I was speaking to different runners about their motivation and their involvement in the sport, I kept coming back to Joan Benoit-Samuelson. Joan was at the Breakfast at Tiffany's event this morning, and she was resplendent, as not only the spokesman for the event, but truly a leader in the movement for women's running. For many years, she let her feet do her talking. Today, as a mother of two, a six-time Olympic Trials qualifier, she is much more relaxed in public than when she came onto the sports scene in 1979. It is something that needs to be understood and appreciated--like the sport, Joan Benoit-Samuelson is comfortable with her place in the sun.

In a short meeting with running media on Friday, Benoit-Samuelson related how she started running in an old fort near her home, because no one could see her and she liked that privacy. That fort has become part of her finish area on the Beach to Beacon 10k, a road race that Joan champions in her hometown each year.

Joan Benoit-Samuelson, the spokesperson, the strong, but gently confident leader of a movement, is not the person I met 20 plus years ago. The Joan Benoit-Samuelson that I knew, and that her would be training partners knew, was the toughest athlete, male or female, in her era. Greg Meyer, the 1983 male champion at Boston, and one of the best American distance runners of his generation told me once that Joan would wear out most of the guys who tried to train with her. Hence she trained by herself much of the time. Samuelson was notorious for her tough, hard training and the miles she ran. She was relentless.

In 1979, Benoit won her first Boston, in 2:35:12, eight minutes better than any other women had ever run at Boston. After her 1979 win, Benoit needed achilles surgery, and in 1982, came back and won the Nike OTC Marathon, one of the best marathon courses ever developed, around Eugene and Springfield, OR. In 1983, when she broke the world record for the marathon, a record that was ONE DAY old, having been set by Grete Waitz in London the day before!

Her first victory at the Olympic Trials in Olympia, Washington in 1984 almost did not happen. Joan had knee surgery seventeen days before the trials! Benoit-Samuelson took the lead early, and did not let up. When she crossed the line, she was in tears, the stress of the surgery, of trying to run against the best runners in the country had taken its toll.

Her coach at the time was the one and only Bob Sevene. Sevene, a fine runner himself, is one of the best marathon coaches in the world, period. Sevene did not need to motivate Joan Benoit-Samuelson, he needed to keep her from training too hard. But, Benoit-Samuelson developed her race confidence from her hard training and Sevene gave her the sessions and the fine tuning to put her in great shape less than 12 weeks after the Olympic Trials.

The Los Angeles course was not an exciting marathon course. Most Olympic marathon courses are not that exciting, and neither are they fast. Championship courses require the athlete to remember why they are there, which is to place as high as possible. Time means nothing in a championship marathon race.

Samuelson faced the greatest runners of her time: Grete Waitz, seven time New York City Marathon champ, 1983 World Champ, Ingrid Kristiansen, former world record holder at marathon, 10,000 meter record holder, Rosa Mota, European medalist, third fastest in the world, Lorraine Moller of New Zealand, Avon marathon winner and the U.S.'s Julie Brown, a distance runner who could break 2:04 at 800 meters and 32 minutes for 10k. It was a stacked field.

A few days before the race, Sevene had Joan relaxing by picking berries outside of Eugene, OR. Joan had trained well, was healthy and most of all, she was ready for the LA Olympic marathon.

Much like Frank Shorter's early move in Munich, Benoit-Samuelson took off early in the race, moving to the front after six kilometers and starting to push before five miles. By the half marathon, Benoit-Samuelson had nearly a one minute lead on the pack which included Grete Waitz, Rosa Mota, Ingrid Kristensen, all of the world's top marathoners, who were waiting for Joan to fall apart.

But Joan Benoit-Samuelson is deceptive. Small of stature, her body could handle high mileage and the stress of elite marathon racing. She was a gambler and liked to lead and challenge her competition to come after her. Seldom did Benoit-Samuelson falter when she took the lead.

The entire field miscalculated. By the time Waitz and company went after her, it was too late. Joan Benoit-Samuelson would become the first women to win the Olympic marathon. Now, 23 years and six Olympic Trials later, married and with two nearly grown children, Samuelson has found her place in the sun, and her tribe, women runners, respect her and listen to her every word.

The Nike Women's marathon started four years ago as a way to pay homage to the first women of the marathon, and it has come to mean much, much more. For 20,000 women in San Francisco on Sunday, October 21, 2007, the marathon and half marathon will be the culmination of six months of training, and a weekend of celebration. For the 3,500 who will run from somewhere else in the world, tied in by their Nike plus pod in their Nike running shoes. The tribe of running women, for six to eight hours tomorrow, will own the streets of the City of San Francisco. And that, for Joan and her tribe, is a good thing.

Sunday, October 22, 2007

I awoke to a song by Jesse Colin Young, an observer of the human condition from the 70s. The song, "Morning Sun" was in my ears, but also there was no stereo on.

Sunday morning came early, about 6 a.m., as the alarm on my phone went off, signaling the start of a new day. As I prepared myself for the journalist part of my day, I grabbed my iPod nano. With iTalk, a new accoutrement for the nano, I now do interviews and iPod observations of running events.

Walking to the start on Union Square, I felt the tinge I always feel before the start of an event. My modus operandi today would be to walk up, introduce myself to a group of women marathoners and half marathoners, and let them talk about their reasons for running.

My first group of interviewees was from Alberta, Canada. Two were running their first half marathon and one had already ten half marathons. They were very positive, and spoke of the importance for running for a cause. One of the runners, only half jokingly said she was running because of the hunky firemen who give out the Tiffany necklaces at the end. That was honest!

The changes in the sport of running for this century are not only about the number of women, but the ethnic diversity. In the 70s, running was pretty much a white male sport. In this race, there is a strong Latino and Asian as well as and African American contingent. The sport has become more open and more inclusive.

In another set of interviews, I spoke to three Latinos from Los Angeles. One had run for twenty years, one for fourteen and one had just started up running again! One of the runners had run 19 half marathons. One had run one race and the third had run five half marathons. These three runners had only been racing again for the past five years, but had been running for up to twenty years! What motivated them to race? And why now? The Nike plus half marathon was getting many runners to do more than lace up their shoes every, day, they were participating. Two used Brooks running shoes, one used Nike and ASICS, but all three said that they were buying Nike apparel.

The late George Sheehan once said that the difference between a runner and a non-runner was the bib number, i.e., race, and become a runner. Many were first timers here, although there were over 500 runners who had run all four marathons or half marathons.

What about brand awareness? In the running food chain Nike is the king of all running shoe sales, a $6.5 billion business (they do nearly $3 billion in sales) but they are third or fourth in the performance business, behind ASICS, Brooks, and New Balance. This is huge improvement for Nike, as they were in a freefall for the past half dozen years. Nike had gone from geek brand to wanna be geek brand.

While there is nothing wrong with $3 billion in sales, Nike had started as a runners' brand and as sales grew, the attention to detail and core runners seemed to have left the brand. Key designers and Nike-lifers left to go elsewhere. The word was that Nike had lost its way.

The grumbling started seven or eight years ago and the self-analysis was painful, and still is. Key Nike execs, including Phil Knight, the founder, were uncomfortable with this. But many execs, who had come to Nike from non-running backgrounds, were also fearful to shake up the apple tree too much, as Nike was and is selling a lot of shoes.

Last spring, at a press conference, Mark Parker, one of the co-Presidents of Nike, expressed that Nike was a running shoe company and it would reexamine its roots. Parker is a runner (shoe geek) and also one of the few executives in the massive behemoth that has become the Swoosh, who can effect change. His words were remembered by many and feared by some.

In the end, it came to finding a corporate soul. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step according to Chinese philosopher Lao-Tse (http://www.classicallibrary.org/laotse/tao/part1.html). The journey began with many half steps. The first was the Nike Border Clash that began eight years ago. An event held on the Nike campus between the best high school runners of Oregon and Washington gave Nike insiders and industry cognoscenti something to ponder.

About a year ago, rumors began that Nike would shake up their structure once again. Leslie Lane was hired as Global Director of running, a man with a big title, but what was the mandate? Lane has experience in cross country running and crew. Well educated, Lane leads quietly, assembling a team and empowering them to fight the good fight. With a team, Lane has began to effect change in a structure that does not welcome change.

The Nike Women's Marathon is part of that good fight. Nike staffers started to say that they needed to listen to the consumer, especially women. What do they want? What do they need? How do they view our brand? The Nike Women's marathon is one moving, breathing consumer laboratory. No mice are harmed in this research, but runners are made, and relationships are started.

In part, the race was to celebrate Joan Benoit-Samuelson's 20th anniversary of her victory in Los Angeles. Ironic, as the LA Olympics saved the Olympic movement, and Benoit-Samuelson's marathon and the minions of women runners she influenced have saved the sport of running.

Over the past year, Lane has assembled a strong team at Nike, first to look at the problems and secondly to find a way to re-embrace Nikes' roots and core beliefs ---a thankless job with a $19 billion company that is making gobs of money and where many would more than likely fear any change. But, slowly, over the year, some good things happened that started the first hundred meters toward real change. A step forward and a half step back. That is how change works in modern business and society.

Back to the race . . .

While Carol Lewis, a TV sports commentator, former athlete and sister of Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, continued to say, " We are all athletes here! Yell if you are a runner!"

Martha Graham, the renowned modern dancer, called dancers "athletes of God." In this new era of running, we are all athletes. The key is to participate, to move one's body, get the heart pumping, and increase your awareness of the world! Nike and other footwear companies should focus on opening sports and activities like this to as many who can get off their behinds and walk, run, jog, jump or throw. Celebrate the body or you will not have that body. Breathe in, breathe out.

Leslie Lane was in attendance at the start, waiting for his wife to cross the starting line for her first half marathon. Before the start, Leslie put the event in perspective. "Remember, Nike is named for a women, the Winged goddess of victory. Today, in San Francisco, there are 20,000 winged goddesses!" Lane stood there and watched 20,000 winged goddesses, including his wife, run with their hearts and their feet.

It took 26 minutes and two seconds for 20,000 marathoners and half-marathoners to cross the starting line on Union Square this morning. I watched them, trying to catch as many faces and expressions. Hugs were shared as many crossed the starting line, smiles, and shouts were heard. Lots of cameras and camcorders captured the moment that many had trained for the last six months, getting up four to six days a week, in good weather and bad, to run for something bigger than themselves.

I was so in awe of the start, and so captured by the emotion, that I missed my van to tour much of the course. The truth was, I had seen and experienced exactly what I wanted and needed to. Walking back to my hotel, I was touched by the silence and quiet on the streets of San Francisco, where 20,000 runners and walkers had just began their tours of the city streets.

I reached my hotel and changed into my walking clothes. Grabbing my shoes, and my iPod. I started my walk, and honored the 20,000 participants of the Nike Women's 26.2 and Nike plus Half marathon the only way I knew how-I joined them on the roads and streets of San Francisco for my hour....

*********

Monday, October 22, 2007

Mornings start early at Stan and Marilu Eder's home. My father is the early riser, from years of getting up to manage departments at Ford Motor Company. Now he heads to Cardio training three mornings a week for 90 minutes of aerobic training and hanging out with his buddies. After his heart attack three years ago, he became a new man and finds time for his exercise. My mother, the Director of Ministry for a local women's prison, does African dance and joins me for two hours walks on my visits home.

This morning, we headed out at 7:30 a.m., and walked to our favorite coffee shop, about an hour from the house, where we grab a coffee or tea and head back. In those two hours, we solve most of the world's problems.

As the oldest of five, I have had the opportunity to watch my parents grow up. They were nineteen when they had me, and now, after nearly fifty years of marriage, I am still comforted about how much they love each other, but most of all, can get each other to laugh. Part of it, I believe, is that they still see each other as those seventeen year olds that they were nearly a half-century ago. They are my role models--always have been and always will be. I learned early on in my life, that it is the joy with which one leads their life, not the awards gained or recognition given, that matters. Our house, when I was young, was one of continuous eccentricity, laughter, and most of all, love.

I look forward to my visits with my parents. Dad always had good advice about work, raising Adam and fixing my new house, plus a few off color jokes. Mom wants to make sure that I am taking care of myself and that Adam is doing well. The positive feeling that they give me, and have always done, is one of the reasons that I felt, like my brother and sisters that we could do anything we choose to do. The encouragement is in the air of their home.

The walks end always too fast, as did the visit. After a quick trip to our favorite Falafel stand, where we have gone for 30 years, it was off to the airport. Mom was fascinated by the stories of the Nike plus half marathon, so we have decided next year to join the 20,000 and walk the Nike plus half marathon.

This will be a real change for my mother. Between my brother, sisters and myself, Mom must have driven us to hundreds of cross country, track, tennis and drama events. Now, she will be participating in one. We have started planning our training program for next fall. Another addition to the tribe!

*****

For more on the Nike 26.2, please check: http://www.nike.com/nikemarathon For more on Lao-Tse, check out: http://www.classicallibrary.org/laotse/tao/part1.html For more on the running network, please check: http://www.runningnetwork.com To reach the writer, please email larry.eder@gmail.com

atf newswire is published by shooting star media, inc.(www.shootingstarmediainc.com) for the good of the sport. shooting star media, inc. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. shooting star media, inc. is represented by Running Network LLC.

****** Larry Eder Group Publisher, Shooting Star Media, Inc. President, Running Network, LLC http://www.shootingstarmediainc.com http://www.runningnetwork.com www.runblogrun.com digital issue: http://www.flipseekllc.com/ATFguide.html Office: 920.563.5551, ext. 112 Fax: 920.563.7298 Mobile: 608.239.3785 larry.eder@gmail.com